Whenever the West Virginia Legislature drafts a code that addresses the admissibility of evidence it should be challenged as a violation of the separation of powers provision and the rule making authority of the Supreme Court.

The world of criminal defense is filled with highs and lows, peaks and valleys. In today’s post, Paul focuses his attention on a valley that resulted from the Supreme Court’s ruling in State v. Hoard, 248 W. Va. 428 (2023), finding that a prosecutor’s reference to a Defendant’s pre-trial silence was a constitutional error, but that such was harmless.